Multi effects love 'em or hate 'em

[Nubus]

I've recently rekindled the flames between me and my Korg A5.

I think most people who gripe about multi effects pedals complain about the split second of delay that occurs when switching patches. Maybe it's just me, but couldn't those people just learn to control their foot switching rhythm a bit?

[dolivas]

Yep I don't get that apprehension because of that little delay. I've heard that same delay in non-multi-fx pedals such as digital as opposed to analog pedals. Anyways, I love my Zoom GFX-4 I've had it for a good 3 years and its pretty much my fave to use for any guitar stuff. All the distortions are actually analog distortions on it and the effects sound very good and have their own quirky things about them that I can't find in other pedals. So YEP I'm not a purist by any means and I dig using multi-fxers. Plus with the manual button on this pedal you can almost use it like a straight up three different pedal pedalboard

[GearJunkie]

i've always said "to each is own". personaly, i don't like having multi effects for live use, but for recording, they're great along with some good pedals. build a sound, track a song, go back, tweak the sound, put more parts on, etc etc.

[Nubus]

Cool... but now I need to order a cinema display in order to view this thread.

The other one my wife uses is the Boss ME8. It has this wicked pitch effect that sounds like a blast off which I love. Gets me every time. Anyone know that effect, and if it is available on any other regular (?) pedal?

[Bellringer]

Multi effect units can do an excellent job for you if you are willing to take the time out to learn your machine. Some of the biggest complaints you hear about these units are that they don't sound enough like the different effects they are emulating. I have yet to hear a multi unit that wil sound identical to a pedal it is emulating. Though if you are willing to do a little tweaking to create a user preset that matches up to your guitar and amp, you will usually come up with something very close.
I use a Pod XT Live and what has made this unit work for me is its ability to allow you to switch from sound to sound during a song quickly and quietly. I don't miss the mess of pedals I used to string together. I don't miss having to use lots of adaptors, batteries, and patch cables. Hunting for where the bad cable is, random noise, etc..
It also makes recording a snap giving you more options than you could have afforded otherwise.
A good multi-effect can save you on a budget or solve noise issues that a string of pedals might cause. Thumbs up on my XT Live!!

[dolivas]

Originally Posted by Bellringer

I don't miss having to use lots of adaptors, batteries, and patch cables. Hunting for where the bad cable is, random noise, etc..
It also makes recording a snap giving you more options than you could have afforded otherwise.
A good multi-effect can save you on a budget or solve noise issues that a string of pedals might cause. Thumbs up on my XT Live!!

great comment! if you're on a budget you can use that pedal for something else as well. I've taken to using my multi-fx as an Effect insert for recording and I use it for stuff other than guitars, such as keyboards, vocals, etc. etc. If you're on a bind you can use it as a multi-fx unit on recordings.

[Nubus]

Good point about recording, I didn't think about that. I'm inclined to say I take the other approach and play with these live but then use the seperate effects in a recording setup. But for direct recording, a lot can be done with just a multi-effect and a hard disc multitrack. I would take an apartment in Tokyo with that and some headphones any day.

I think these enable you to get readily recallable settings which tends to lend itself to the immediacy of making music, hich is what is all about in the first place.

[Nubus]

oh hey maybe that effect is called "trip"? And this I might have to buy, it's a bass version of my lady's

[Whoopysnorp]

I used to be a lot more enthralled with effects than I am now. However, as time has gone on and I've been able to afford better amps, I've realized that the sound I'm after is a little more basic and can be achieved with just a good two-channel tube amp. I still toss in an effect every once in a while (usually from my Digitech S100) but I'm way more sparse with that stuff now. Back when I was more effects-crazy, I thought multieffects units were the only way to go because they were the only tool that allowed you to change a whole lot of effects by pressing one button. The non-seamlessness in most units always bugged me, though. I'm glad I've abandoned the multieffects thing for the most part, because I think my tone is a lot better now.

[mikegee]

Originally Posted by Whoopysnorp

I used to be a lot more enthralled with effects than I am now. However, as time has gone on and I've been able to afford better amps, I've realized that the sound I'm after is a little more basic and can be achieved with just a good two-channel tube amp. I still toss in an effect every once in a while (usually from my Digitech S100) but I'm way more sparse with that stuff now. Back when I was more effects-crazy, I thought multieffects units were the only way to go because they were the only tool that allowed you to change a whole lot of effects by pressing one button. The non-seamlessness in most units always bugged me, though. I'm glad I've abandoned the multieffects thing for the most part, because I think my tone is a lot better now.

i agree. for me, i used to be more into effects when i owned less expensive guitars. but since i now own better quality guitars with better pickups, the natural tone of the guitars sounds so good, i dont like coloring the tone with effects so much. the thing i dont like about some of the cheaper multi-effect processors is that they hide the natural tone of the guitar...